Laundry extractor having fabric adhesion reducing means



June 28, 1966 c. A. COBB ETAL 3,258,124

LAUNDRY EXTRACTOR HAVING FABRIC ADHESION REDUCING MEANS Filed May 13. 1965 United States Patent O s 25s 124 LAUNDRY nxTRAcrR HAVING FABRIC AnHEsIoN REDUCING MEANS Clifton A. Cobb and Keith D. Salisbury, St. Joseph, Mich.,

assignors to Whirlpool Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 13, 1963, Ser. No. 279,868 3 Claims. (Cl. 210-380) that the liquid will be forced from the clothes by centrifugal action and will be -thrown outwardly through exit passages provided in the periphery of the drum to place the clothes in a damp dry condition. At the end of this extraction period the drum is rotated at a slower (tumble) speed during a clothes drying period during which the remaining moisture in the clothes is removed by applied heat.

One of the problems with such a high speed drum is that the centrifugal forces causing the water to flow outwardly from the clothes during the extraction operation preceding the drying operation also cause the clothes to `be plastered against the inner surface of the drum periphery. Frequently, this adherence of the clothes to the inner surface prevents the clothes from falling free of this inner surface during the subsequent slower tumbling period. As a result, the heat applied during this subsequent drying period tends to overheat the adhered clothes in certain areas thereof with subsequent damage to the fabric. In addition, this overheating causes any wrinkles in the adhered annulus of clothes to become firmly set.

One of the features of this invention is to provide in a laundry machine simple yet etiicient improved means for returning a portion of the extracted laundry liquid to the clothes in the drum to aid in releasing the clothes from the inner surface of the periphery of the drum.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of one embodiment thereof as shown in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view partially broken away of a portion of a combination washer-dryer with the outer casing removed for clarity of illustration.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a semi-diagrammatic View illustrating the operation of the machine from the end of the washing cycle to the `beginning of the drying cycle with the abscissa indicating time and the ordinate indicating relative speed of rotation ofthe drum.

In the illustrated embodiment the laundry machine comprises a base 10 resting on a supporting surface 11 and including a frame 12 for rotatably supporting a drum 13 within an enclosing casing 14. This drum 13 is rotated `by means of the usual 'electric drive means 15 including a motor and belt 16 drive. The drum 13 is provided with a plurality of passages or perforations 17 through which the laundry liquid may flow.

As is illustrated in FIGURE 3 a typical series of operations in such a machine involve rotating the drum 13 at a relatively slow speed, as indicated at 18, during the washing and rinsing period or cycle, then raising the speed to a higher value 19 during removal of most of the laundry liquid remaining in the drum and then spinning the drum at a much higher speed, indicated at 20, for spinning from the clothes load all liquid except that retained by capillary action between and within the fibers.

3,258,124 Patented June 28, 1966 In the typical embodiment of FIGURE 3, the intermediate spin period 19 lasts for about 1 minute. Then the high speed spinning extraction period 20 lasts for about 5 minutes. At the'end of this 5 minutes the rate of rotation of the drum is dropped to -a tumbling speed 21 equivalent to the tumbling speed 18 in order that gravity acting on lthe clothes will cause them to pull loose from the inner surface 23 of the drum 13. Drum rotation may be thereafter terminated for a one minute period of time in order to assist in this fabric separation process. At the end of this period 22 the speed of rotation is increased, as indicated 4at 24, to a tumble speed substantially equal to the speed 18 of the washing cycle. During this speed 24 the clothes are tumbled and dried by applied heat As explained earlier, the high speed spinning for the extraction of all remaining liquid except that entrapped between and within the fibers frequently causes the clothes to plaster against the inner surface 23 and the adhesion bond at the interface between the clothes and the inner surface 23 is so great that even at the zero or extremely low speed 22 gravity acting on the clothes is not sufticient to pull them loose from the drum inner surface.

In order to insure that gravity will be sufficient for these clothes to fall loose, the laundry machine of this invention is provided with means located exteriorly of the passages 17 for intercepting only a limited portion of the extracted liquid after llow of this liquid through the passages 17.

In the illustrated embodiment this intercepting means is in the form of a plurality of -spaced receptacles 25 attached to the outer surface 26 of the drum 13 and covering only a portion of the openings or holes 17 in drum 13. In the illustrated embodiment these receptacles 25 are arranged in clusters of 8 on the outer peripheral surface with there being4 receptacles 25 across the width of the drum, as illustrated in FIGURE 2, and two receptacles wide along the circumference of the drum as shown in FIGURE 1.

With this construction the major portion of the liquid is thrown from the drum during the spinning through those passages that are not covered by the receptacles 25. Liquid thrown outwardly through the passages covered by the receptacles 25 has a substantial quantity retained in the receptacles by the centrifugal forces set up by the high speed spinning. Then, upon cessation of the centrifuging operation and during the subsequent tumbling period, as

. indicated by the portion 21 of the graph in FIGURE 3,

this intercepted or retained liquid automatically flows by gravity back through the openings 17 opposite the receptacles 25 because the tumbling speed is not sufcient to hold the retained liquid in the receptacle. This gravity reverse flow of liquid is suicient to slightly dampen the exterior or outer peripheral surface of the fabrics engaging the surface 23 thereby decreasing the adhesion bond between these fabrics and the drum and causing them to fall by gravity upon cessation of the centrifuging operation during period 21 and the reduced speed period indicated at 22 in FIGURE 3 when the gravitational forces exceed centrifugal forces acting on the fabrics within drum 21. This returned liquid, however, is so small that it tends to moisten only the interface .between the fabrics and the drum rather than the mass or bulk of the fabrics them.

selves and does not have an appreciable affect on the subsequent drying time of the clothes or the amount of heat energy required -to complete the drying of the clothes. An important feature of this invention is the collection of the extracted fluids outside drum 21 away from the fabrics during the centrifuging operation. Another feature is the redeposition of extracted liquids solely in the areas of the drum where clothes are located, since the receptacles 25 are supplied with water only in the areas where the clothes are located during the centrifuging portion of the cycle.

Having described -our invention as related to the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, it is our intention that the invention be not limited by any of the details of description, unless otherwise specified, but rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as set out in the accompanying claims.

We claim:

1. A laundry extractor, comprising: a rotatable drum for retaining Wet fabrics to be centrifuged and having a perforate peripheral wall including a plurality of exit passages and an inner surface; means for spinning said drum at a centrifuging speed to centrifuge wet fabrics and extract liquid from the fabrics outwardly through said exit passages; and intercepting means connected to said drum exteriorly of said peripheral wall for intercepting only a limited portion of the liquid extracted from the fabrics through said exit passages for returning said limited portion of extracted liquid back to the interface formed between said surface and the fabrics upon lessening of said centrifuging speed to reduce the adhesion bond between said surface and the clothes so as to aid in the separation of the clothes from said surface, said intercepting means comprising at least one receptacle having an imperforate wall portion spaced from said peripheral wall in an outward radial direction to form a compartment therewith, said imperforate wall enclosing a plurality of said exit passages.

2. The laundry machine of claim 1 wherein said intercepting means comprises a plurality of spaced receptacles on said drum outwardly of said exit passages.

3. The laundry machine of claim 2 wherein said receptacles are grouped in a plurality of spaced clusters around said periphery.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,904,982 9/1959 Bochan 210-380 X 2,990,706 7/1961 Bochan 210--380 X 3,116,243 12/1963 Khan et al 210-380 X REUBEN FRIEDMAN, Primary Examiner.

` J. DE CESARE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A LAUNDRY EXTRACTOR, COMPRISING: A ROTATABLE DRUM FOR RETAINING WET FABRICS TO BE CENTRIFUGED AND HAVING A PERFORATE PERIPHERAL WALL INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF EXIT PASSAGES AND AN INNER SURFACE; MEANS FOR SPINNING SAID DRUM AT A CENTRIFUGING SPEED TO CENTRIFUGE WET FABRICS AND EXTRACT LIQUID FROM THE FABRICS OUTWARDLY THROUGH SAID EXIT PASSAGES; AND INTERCEPTING MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID DRUM EXTERIOR OF SAID PERIPHERAL WALL FOR INTERCEPTING ONLY A LIMITED PORTION OF THE LIQUID EXTRACTED FROM THE FABRICS THROUGH SAID EXIT PASSAGES FOR RETURNING SAID LIMITED PORTION OF EXTRACTED LIQUID BACK TO THE INTERFACE FORMED BETWEEN SAID SURFACE AN THE FABRICS UPON LESSENING OF SAID CENTRIFUGING SPEED TO REDUCE THE ADHESION BOND BETWEEN SAID SURFACE AND THE CLOTHES SO AS TO AID IN THE SEPARATION OF THE CLOTHES FROM SAID SURFACE, SAID INTERCEPTING MEANS COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE RECEPTACLE HAVING AN IMPERFORATE WALL PORTION SPACED FROM SAID PERIPHERAL WALL IN AN OUTWARD RADIAL DIRECTION TO FORM A COMPARTMENT THEREWITH, SAID IMPERFORATE WALL ENCLOSING A PLURALITY OF SAID EXIT PASSAGES. 